In the penultimate episode of
Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition, the recruits faced their last Skill Drill and Main Dish challenges that would test how well they could decipher a recipe and cook without their mentor present. Last season's winner and runner-up, Jenni "JWoww" Farley and Kendra Wilkinson, respectively, showed up to lend some help to Anne Burrell and Rachael Ray too. At the end, the mentors would have to choose which recruits gave them the best chance of winning in the finale, which meant there would be a double elimination. Find out who got eliminated from Rachael's Blue Team below, and get the exit interview from
Anne's Red Team recruit here.

This competition proved to be a roller-coaster ride for John, who had many moments of success and just as many, if not more, moments of failure. Last week he cut his finger so badly in the Elimination challenge that it looked as though it would be the end of the road. But he had one more chance this week to prove to Rachael he could be the one to represent her in the finale. In the recipe fill-in-the-blank Skill Drill, neither he nor Loni comprehended the recipe. But things looked like they would go better in the Main Dish pasta-making challenge. Unfortunately John got flustered again and messed up his recipe by putting herbs in the pasta sauce instead of the filling. However, Loni didn't do much better, which made Rachael's decision all the harder. The mentor chose to go with the recruit who progressed more consistently, and that was Loni. John left the competition with $5,000 for his charity, Casa Hogar.

Loni Love and John Henson react after Henson was eliminated following the main dish challenge, as seen on Food Network's Worst Cooks in America, Season 9.

JH: I don’t know if it shook up my confidence as much as it was exhausting to go through a very, very long day and then have to go to the hospital and then get sewn up, and then I had to go see a specialist. It was sort of the straw that broke the camel’s back in terms of my ability to rally. I was shocked ... how difficult it was for me to sustain my energy and focus today. This was draining physically, emotionally, mentally, and this kind of just heightened all that.

How would you sum up your entire time here on the show?

JH: Oh, it was fantastic. It was a total home run. I feel like I’ve won. I mean, I never anticipated making it this far, and more than anything the exciting part about this is everything that I learned, I get to keep. The part that I really struggled with was the time constraint and allowing that to affect my methodical process. When I go home, I don’t have a ticking time clock; I don’t have people yelling at me. I can make all these dishes. The challenge for me was making it in a certain amount of time, and when I go home, I get to relax and enjoy it more, so I’m excited to let these skills breathe and go home and start playing with them.

John Henson of the blue team cooks during the main dish challenge, as seen on Food Network's Worst Cooks in America, Season 9.

What messed you up on the Main Dish challenge where you got to the point that you were just putting stuff on the floor instead of using the bins? You were known for getting better at cleaning as you progressed in the competition.

JH: It’s just a lot going on, man. ... We all learned so much that I’m happy that I plated a dish that tasted good. The dish came out, I made some mistakes, but it wasn’t a complete and total debacle where I couldn’t get something plated. I think when you start piling on all these additional challenges and dishes and stuff like that, it really — it’s challenging to pay attention to the fine details. And cleaning my station was something that I lacked a bit.

Mentor Rachael Ray tastes John Henson's main challenge dish, as seen on Food Network's Worst Cooks in America, Season 9.

How was the experience of working with Rachael? What do you take away from that?

JH: I adore Rachael. She’s fantastic. She was so sweet, so nurturing. And she gave me every opportunity to succeed. I’m disappointed that I couldn’t come through for her, but I really do believe that Loni is the best chance for the Blue Team to win, so I’m totally at peace with it. I went farther than I expected, and I’m thrilled with all the things I’ve learned.

Do you think that after coming here, did you accomplish what you wanted to do, and do you feel going home now that you’re at a better place in the kitchen?

JH: Oh, it’s night and day. I mean, it really is night and day. Before I felt like a bit of a hack in the kitchen, and now I feel like I’ve got a real baseline of skills that I’m excited to play around with, and I really do believe that this will change the way my family eats forever.

John Henson, Mindy Cohn and Loni Love react after Love was named the blue team winner following the main dish challenge, as seen on Food Network's Worst Cooks in America, Season 9.

JH: God, man, the people here, that was like probably the greatest part of this whole thing was the people that I got to spend time with. Both teams, really honestly, and especially as we got down to the end, you know, some great cooks went out. I think Matt Dallas could have done very well had he been able to stay around. Mike is a phenomenal cook, Nikki is a phenomenal cook, Loni is a phenomenal cook, Mindy is a great cook. So, hopefully in addition to the cooking skills that I’ll keep, I’ll keep those friendships as well.

John Henson and Loni Love of the blue team cook during the skill drill challenge, as seen on Food Network's Worst Cooks in America, Season 9.

JH: Loni doesn’t need my advice. Loni’s a phenomenal cook; she’s laser-focused. She is the best chance that the Blue Team has of winning. The last thing Loni needs is my help. I needed Loni’s help. Loni’s great, man. She’s going to do wonderful.

Contestants Nicole Sullivan and John Henson race to finish their first challenge cook as seen on Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition, Season 9.

When we first talked, you mentioned that you wanted to take down Nicole, so what are your wishes for her?

JH: Nikki and I are so, so close. She’s one of my closest friends. She really is one of my best friends, and I wanted to beat her just for bragging rights, but the truth is I have so much respect for her cooking skills. I think the two right people ended up in the finals, and I wish her the best of luck. She’s got tough competition in Loni.

Watch the finale of Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 9|8c.